the final days
by Zombie
Summary: A bunch of demons are bringing about another apocalypse, and Angel travels to Sunnydale to help stop them. Finished version, please read & reveiw!
1. Army of the Dead

This fic is based between Season 4 and 5. Oh, and Tara's left Sunnydale. I just didn't like her, so made her go away. Sorry, Tara fans, I just couldn't stand her.  
  
ARMY OF THE DEAD  
Xander opened the door to Giles' house and walked in. "Hey, Giles?" he called. Giles walked into the living room from the kitchen. "You wanted me?" Xander then noticed Spike sitting in the corner chair. "What's he doing here? Isn't it kinda bright outside?" he asked.  
"Spike's waiting here until the sun goes down." Giles explained briefly.  
"Yeah. I lost track of time." Spike added.  
"He was attacked by demons." Giles said bluntly. Xander smiled.  
"The Big Bad got scared?" he laughed. "Since when has that happened?"  
"Piss off." Spike said. "There were too many to fight by myself. And they were different."  
"Different?" Xander asked. "How do you mean 'different'?"  
"Tough. Tougher than the other demons around here."  
"I've been looking through books about them using Spike's description. They're a group of demons called Sinkata, I think. There's only ever been one sighting." Giles said.  
"Is that good, or, you know, not good?" Xander asked.  
"I don't know. It could mean that every time someone's seen these things, they are killed."  
"Who? Demons or observing people?" Xander questioned.  
"The witnesses, you idiot." Spike butted in.  
"The one sighting tells us that these demons are fast, strong and deadly." Giles said.  
"Nothing new there, then." Xander told him.  
"But the witness survived because it was the destruction of this particular race of demon. They should all be extinct." Giles replied.  
"Well they didn't seem very extinct when they attacked me. In fact, they seemed very much alive." Spike added.  
"This is all very well and bad, but shouldn't you be telling this to Buffy, not me?" Xander asked.  
"She's in her lessons at the moment. I thought you'd be able to find out if anybody has seen anything like this around recently." Giles answered.  
"That should be fun." Xander mocked. "Excuse me, have you seen a big, ugly demon, about yay tall, tendancy to kill people? Oh, that's right, no. You're alive."  
"Just ask the people who know about the demon activities in Sunnydale." Giles told him.  
"I'd have thought that would be everybody." Xander said, and left the house.  
  
Buffy and Willow had just finished their Psychology class and were walking down the corridor. "So, you going to be with Riley again tonight?" Willow asked.  
"Yeah. Why?" Buffy answered.  
"No reason. Just wondering if I should be expecting you back at any time later." Willow replied.  
"You doing a spell, then?" Buffy asked, realising why Willow wanted to know if she'd be alone that night.  
"I was thinking about it. It'll be kinda strange doing one without Tara." Willow answered. She'd only recently just split up with her after Tara left Sunnydale.  
"Don't let it get you down." Buffy said. "Try not to think about it too much."  
"It doesn't hurt anymore." Willow told her. "Not like it did with Oz." Buffy wasn't sure what to reply with. Then, without warning, something crashed through the window at the end of the corridor. The creature looked vaguely like a human, only slightly taller and a purple-black colour. It also looked scary. Buffy came to the conclusion in almost a whole second that it was a demon. The next second consisted of the demon grabbing a girl's head and tearing it in half. Everyone screamed, and the demon roared as the girl's body collapsed to the ground. The demon still clutched the scalp, blood dripped off it onto the body.  
As soon as the creature had appeared, Buffy dropped her books and ran towards it. She was to late to save a girl near the demon, and this pissed her off even more. She jumped in the air and kicked the demon in the chest with her left foot, and the face with her right. The demon was knocked backwards, dropping the scalp. It swung it's clawed hand at her, and she leant back. The spiky fingers missed her face by millimeters. Buffy grabbed the demon's arm and twisted it sideways. The demon screamed as a loud snap echoed through the corridor. It used it's broken arm and threw Buffy into a wall. She landed on the floor, and the demon prepared to slice her head off her neck.  
Riley grabbed the demon's arm and promptly stabbed it in the back of the head with a biro. The demon screamed loudly, then collapsed on the floor next to Buffy. Riley looked at her. "Are you alright?" he asked.  
"Yeah. Thank you." Buffy answered, and stood up. She kissed him, then turned around to look at the demon. "You know what this is?" she asked.  
"No. I've never seen anything like that before. Don't think I want to." he replied. They turned around and saw the dead girl. The veiw they had allowed them to see into her now almost hollow skull. Her brain was splattered across the floor, and her dead eyes stared spookily at Buffy and Riley. Her mouth was open, like she was screaming.  
"Eww..." Buffy moaned. She glanced at Riley, who was almost throwing up. "Willow! Go call Giles." she said. Willow ran up to her.  
"Already did." she said. Buffy looked at her, confused.  
"How? Our room's on the other side of college." she asked. Willow took out the cell-phone from her pocket.  
"My new phone. Like it?" she said. She then saw the dead body. She almost threw up as well, then looked at Buffy. "I'll go meet Giles." she said, then ran off. Buffy looked around.  
"Wonder if anybody wonders why we stay around dead people, or why we seem to kick some strange creature people's ass a lot." she asked.  
"Just in the wrong place at the wrong time." Riley answered.  
"Story of my life." Buffy replied.  
  
"Was this one of the creatures that attacked you?" Giles asked. Spike looked at the photos.  
"Yeah. Looks like it." Spike answered. "How did you kill it?"  
"Riley stabbed it in the back of the head with a pen." Buffy told him. "Saved my life."  
"That's so sweet." Willow said. "Apart from the stabbing part. That's more on the yucky side."  
"Yeah." Buffy replied.  
"I don't like him." Spike said. "Him and his army group. If it weren't for them, I'd..."  
"Still be an evil son of a bitch, and we'd have to stake you." Xander finished. "So look on the bright side, ok." Giles turned to Buffy.  
"It attacked you in the middle of the day, in a farely crowded area?" he asked.  
"Thing isn't shy, that's for sure." she replied. "How many do you think there are?"  
"Well, they're supposed to be extinct. I wouldn't have thought there'd be many." Giles answered.  
"Well that's ok then. I don't think I'd be able to take on a whole army of them." Buffy said. "This one almost killed me."  
  
Derek Reed stepped out of his house, trash-bag in hand. He walked down the path to the trash can and dropped the bag in it. He replaced the lid over it and walked back into his house. He closed the door and walked into the living room. His heart suddenly went ape-shit when he saw the walls covered in blood. "Jane!" he shouted, and saw his wife's face looking up at him. It wasn't attached to her body, or the rest of her head. Derek screamed until everything went black.  
  
"It must've been another one of those Sinatra demons." Buffy said, looking at the newspaper Giles had.  
"Sinkata." Giles corrected. "And I think you're right. Both times they've been sighted, the creature has ripped the head or part of the head off. The girl at school and the Reed's."  
"Why do they keep doing that?" Buffy asked.  
"The one sighting given says something about the Sinkata demon always kills it's victims by slicing into the brain. It was supposed to gain them the victims powers." Giles replied.  
"Great. Well, you keep researching. I'd better go and learn things in the other world they call college. Bye." Buffy said, and walked out.  
  
Willow walked down the steps into Spike's crypt residence. She looked around, and Spike jumped out in front of her. "Hello, Red." he said.  
"Hi." Willow replied, her voice jumping from the sudden shock. "You been attacked again?"  
"No. Thanks for the reminder of fear of being torn apart, though."  
"Oh. Sorry. Didn't mean to say anything interpreted as not nice." Willow said, then turned around. Spike grabbed her arm.  
"Wait a sec, Red. We never talk." he told her.  
"You want to talk?" Willow asked, bewildered.  
"Well, not really." Spike then spun her around and held her arms tight.  
"Hey, what are you doing?" she asked. "You're not supposed to be able to hurt people, remember?" Spike kissed her, and she stopped struggling.  
  
"Hey, Willow. Wake up." Buffy said, walking into their dorm room. Willow's eyes shot open, and she looked around. "What's the matter?"  
"Nothing. Absolutely nothing whatsoever." Willow answered nervously.  
"You look kinda, well, disturbed." Buffy said. "Did you do that spell?"  
"Oh, well, erm... No. Didn't have time. What's the time?" Willow said, trying to sound un-worried.  
"It's saturday. No lessons. Don't worry." Buffy told her.  
"I'm not worrying. And I'm not disturbed. That's not a nice thing to say." Willow replied. She stood up out of bed and started to get changed.  
"Sorry. Didn't mean to upset you." Buffy said. "The demons have attacked recently, as the news may have told you."   
"No, I didn't watch the news." Willow said. "I've only just woken up."  
"Oh, yeah. Like I said, it's a saturday. You can go back to sleep if you like." Buffy told her kindly.  
"No, I'm alright." Willow replied. She put her shoes on."I'd better see if I can help Giles with the research. I'll see you later." she said, and left the room.  
  
"This is so romantic." Anya said, leaning her elbows on the table and looking into Xander's eyes. He was doing the same to her.  
"It's the best I could do." he said. "Bit short on cash." The McDonalds waitress walked over with a plastic tray.  
"Ok, one cheeseburger with large fries for you," she said, giving Xander his food. "And hamburger, large fries and cola for you." she said, giving Anya hers. The waitress walked off. Xander took a bite out of his burger, while Anya ate some of her fries.  
"So," Xander said casually. "What do you want to do after this?"  
"Like what?" Anya asked. Xander shrugged.  
"We could go see a movie, or something." he suggested. Anya smiled.  
"Ok. We can do that." she said.  
"Good." Xander said. "We can finish this, then see what..." Before he could finish, a big demon charged through the door and roared at the inhabitants of the fast food resturant. "Oh, shit!" Xander said, realising it was one of the demons they'd all been looking up in books about. "Gotta go, honey, gotta go!" he told Anya, jumping up and grabbing her arm.  
"I got no arguments!" she shouted, trying to be heard over the screams of other people. The demon grabbed a man trying to get away by the neck, lifted him in the air, and placed both hands on his head. It twisted them, taking half the head off, spraying blood and brain matter over the counter. Xander picked up a chair and threw it at a window. It shattered, and he and Anya jumped through it. They ran down the street and turned around to see what was happening.  
"Where'd everybody go?" Xander asked, observing the empty street. Everybody had quickly fled the not very packed street to avoid decapitation. The demon dived through another window, making Xander and Anya jump. It saw them, and slowly started to chase them. "Shit! Run!" Xander shouted, and they ran like hell down the road towards Xander's car. He took the keys out of his pocket just before they reached the car, and he unlocked it in record time. They both got in the car fast, and Xander started it up. As he hit the gas, the demon was inches from the back of the car.  
"What now?" Anya asked franticaly as the demon didn't give up the chase. It was also gaining slightly after dropping back by a couple of metres as the car started. Xander struggled to think.  
"In the back is a crossbow, get it!" he said. He knew he should always take one for safety reasons. Anya climbed over the seat into the back and grabbed it.  
"Got it!" she shouted.  
"Go for the head!" Xander replied. Anya uneasily aimed the crossbow at the creature. She fired, hitting the demon in the shoulder. It howled, and stopped chasing.  
"It's stopped chasing us!" she said. Xander gave out a sigh of relief. "Are we still going to see that movie?" Anya asked.  
"We'll just report this mind numbingly fearful experiance to the Englishman, then we'll see whether my heart will start beating again." Xander told her, driving very quickly to Giles' house.  
  
Willow lumped another old book onto Giles' table. "Still nothing?" Giles asked, already knowing the answer.  
"Nothing." Willow replied. "It's like these things never existed." Before she was able to take another book from the shelf, Xander and Anya burst through the door, startling both Willow and Giles. "What happened?" Willow asked, concerned. Xander struggled to speak because he was worn out.  
"One of those demon things attacked us... It killed one man, then almost killed us." he told them.  
"I shot it with a crossbow." Anya said proudly.  
"Is it dead?" Giles asked.  
"No, I got it in the shoulder." Anya replied.  
"Oh, well the main thing is that you two are still alive." Giles told them. "How did it kill the man?"  
"It twisted half his head of like a bottle-top." Xander explained. "It was really sick."  
"That must be how they kill all their victims." Giles thought aloud. "Thank you, this has been very helpful." he said. Xander nodded, and they left the house.  
"Now we'll know what people they've killed." Willow said. Giles nodded.  
"Yes. Can you see if you can find any murders where the head has been torn in half at the coroner's or somewhere?" he asked.  
"Ok. I'll have to do it later, I've got to do something at the minuite." Willow replied. "I'll bring back any info tommorow."  
"That's fine." Giles said. Willow nodded, and left the house. Giles picked up another book from the shelf and looked through it.  
  
Buffy and Riley where walking down the street after meeting each other at college. "You still don't know how many of those things there are?" Riley asked her. She shook her head.  
"No. Still pretty much a mystery. All we know is that they're tough, evil, and ugly." she told him.  
"Do you think we could be facing another apocalypse?" Riley asked.  
"I don't know." Buffy replied. "I doubt it. Maybe just a big fight with lots of killing involved."  
"That doesn't sound to good." Riley said. "Then again, that doesn't sound too different." Buffy smiled, but didn't laugh.  
"It's probably the reason why tourism isn't very high in Sunnydale." she said. "But don't worry. Me and my friends have faced loads of demons worse than these and won. We've had lots of experience."  
"No, I'm not worrying. Much. It took a single pen to take down the one at school, how tough can they be to kill?" Riley joked.  
"You could attack them with stationary and save the day." Buffy said. "I'll stick to stakes and crossbows."  
"I can see how they can be more effective." Riley replied. He took something from his pocket. "I want to ask you something." he said.  
"Ask away." Buffy replied.  
"Well, I've been thinking about this for a while now, and was wondering..." he replied, then passed her a small black box. Buffy opened it and stopped walking. "Would you marry me?" Buffy was totaly speechless, which started to worry Riley.  
"Oh my God..." Buffy managed do say. She took the ring out of the box and studied it. "This is beautiful." she said, slipping the ring onto her finger.  
"Is this a good or bad sign?" Riley asked. Buffy smiled and hugged him.  
"It's a good sign. Of course I'll marry you!" she replied, and kissed him. He held his new fiancee tight, not wanting to let her go.  
  
Willow walked to the coroner's office when it was getting dark. This didn't bother her, as she knew it was dark at nights frequently. What bothered her was the lack of people in the street. She walked quicker than usual to the coroner's office, and entered it. She walked through the corridor. "Hello?" she called. There was no answer. "Is anyone..." She stopped midsentance as one of the Sinkata demons steppedround the corner to face her. It's hand was covered in thick blood. It roared at her, and she legged it out of the building.  
Willow ran like hell down the road, but the demon was chasing her. She crossed the road and ran into the graveyard, screaming as she went. The demon smashed through the metal fence, not slowing down. Willow tripped over and rolled foward, laying on the ground facing upwards. She saw the demon stand over her and lean down to grab her. She screamed again, knowing that she was about to die painfully.  
  
Spike was walking around in his crypt when he heard a familiar scream nearby. He grabbed the two crossbows he kept in his lair and ran outside into the dark night. He looked around and saw Willow running through the graveyard, followed by one of those big demons that almost killed him a couple of nights ago. He ran towards them, then saw Willow trip. The demon was about to grab her when Spike aimed the crossbow in his right hand at it and fired. The arrow hit the demon in the arm, and it jumped back in pain. The demon looked up and roared at Spike, then charged at him. Spike fired his other crossbow, and the arrow hit the demon between the eyes, and it dropped to the ground like a sack. Willow ran over to him and hugged him.  
"You saved my life!" she said, pleased to see him.  
"Er, yeah." Spike replied. "I may be evil, but not that evil." Willow stopped hugging him and took a step back.  
"Thank you." she told him.  
"No problem." Spike said. "I had a score to settle with his kind, anyway." They stood in silence for a while, then Willow spoke.  
"Well, I have to go." she said. "Thank you, again." She turned to leave.  
"Ok, see ya." Spike replied, and walked back to his crypt as Willow ran to College.  
  
Willow charged through the door to her room and closed it fast. "What's going on?" Buffy asked. This caught Willow by surprise, and she let out a short scream. She spun round and saw Buffy.  
"Oh, I just met up with a Sinkata demon, and it almost killed me." Willow replied. Buffy jumped up off her bed and quickly walked over to her.  
"Are you ok?" she asked, leading her friend over to her bed. Willow nodded.  
"Spike saved me." she said. Buffy looked confused.  
"Spike helped you? Against one of those?" she wondered aloud.  
"Yup." Willow answered. "He did it well, as well."  
"Wow. He certainly has changed. A lot." Buffy said. "Oh, oh, oh!" she suddenly blurted. "Guess what?"  
"I don't know." Willow guessed. Buffy stuck her hand out so Willow could see the ring. "Oh, my God!" she said. "Are you?" Buffy nodded excitedly. Willow hugged her suddenly. "Congratulations!" she told her.  
"Thanks." Buffy replied. "I was also wondering if you would be the bridesmaid." Willow's face gained a shocked smile.  
"Really?" she asked, totally excited. Buffy nodded. "Of course!" Buffy hugged her, then stopped.  
"This is going to be so perfect." Buffy told her. "I've never had a fiancee before. Apart from Spike, but that doesn't count." Willow laughed uneasily at the mention of Spike's name, suddenly feeling embarresed. Buffy didn't notice it, and layed on her bed again. "Anyway, I'm so tired. This soon-to-be wife business is tiring work." she said.  
"Yeah, I'm sleepy too. All this nearly getting killed work is tiring as well." Willow replied, and they both turned off their desklamps.  
  
The two cops pulled up their patrol car next to the old factory. There'd been reports of trespassers entering it. They looked tall, and heavily built. The two cops pulled their pistols from their holster, and the first cop took out a flashlight. "Bet it's just kids." he said.  
"Yeah," the other replied. "Or maybe even nothing." They walked up to the factory, and walked through the side door. It was dark inside, and the beam from the flashlight didn't show very much up. They carried on walking through the factory, and the second cop heard something. "Next floor." he whispered, and they made their way to the stairs. The first cop looked up the stairs first, then walked up them. The second one followed. As they reached the top, the flashlight's beam highlighted three figures about 200 metres away from them. The cops aimed their guns at them.  
"Freeze!" shouted the first cop. The three men stood up and turned around. On the floor was a fourth, lifeless body. "Don't move!" the cop shouted again. He shone the light in one of the men's face, and noticed it looked different to what it should do. It's face narrowed downwards slightly in the middle, and it had sharp fangs. He could also just make out that his eyes were also yellow. Vampires.  
"Damn..." said the second cop, and fired a round at the lead vampire. The shot knocked him back, but he got back up again. Both cops fired at the group, but they couldn't kill them. The lead vampire charged at the second cop, smashing him into the wall behind him. The force knocked the gun from his hand, and the vampire sunk it's fangs into his neck. He could feel the vampire draining the blood from his artery, and started to feel faint.  
The vampire suddenly stopped drinking, and turned to dust. The cop fell to the ground and looked up. He saw a slightly baffled monster looking at it's claw, then the dust it just created. It then looked down at him, and slowly picked him up by his skull. The cop didn't have the energy to scream, and then didn't have the ability when the monster tore his skull in half.  
The first cop was firing at the other vampires when the lead one rammed into his partner. He turned to try and help, but one of the other vampires smashed him in the head with a plank of wood. He hit the floor with a thud, and looked back at them. His vision was slightly blurred, but he could make out the two vampires approaching him. Suddenly, both turned to dust as the top of their heads were sliced off. Behind them was a monster with a large claw. It hadn't seen him yet, but went for the other vampire, slicing it's head off. The cop watched as it looked at it's claw, confused, then picked up his partner. Before the first cop could do anything, the monster ripped the other's head in two.  
The cop quickly reloaded his gun and fired at the monster. It turned around as the bullets punched through it's flesh, and took a step towards the cop. He shot at it's head, and the monster collapsed to the ground, smashing through it and landing on the floor below. The cop looked down the hole at the monster, and put another couple of bullets in it's body for good measure. "Son of a bitch..." he murmered to himself, holding his head. It was bleeding from where the vampires had hit him. "What the fu..." he started, turning around just in time to see another monster swing at him.  
  
"Married?" Giles asked, shocked at this sudden discovery. Buffy nodded.  
"Isn't it great?" Willow asked, enthusiasticly.  
"Yes." Giles replied, actually happy about it. In fact, he felt a sort of pride inside him. "Congratulations." he said.  
"Thanks." Riley replied. He was standing behind Buffy, holding her shoulders.  
"When is the wedding?" Xander asked.  
"Well, it'll have to be after this impending dom we're about to face. But soon." Buffy answered.  
"This is so cool!" Anya remarked. "Must've been better than when you were gonna marry Spike."  
"Hey!" Spike suddenly said, not liking that remark. "I didn't come here just to have the piss ripped out of me, y'know."  
"Why else do you think we invited you?" Xander asked.  
"Shut it, you dumb-assed piece of sh..." Spike started.  
"Ok, you two." Buffy interupted. "That's enough. We're also here to decide what we're going to do in the way of stopping these things."  
"Kill 'em all." Spike told her.  
"Well, I found another sighting in one of my old books, and before they were looking for the Premarian Amulet." Giles said. "That could be what they're looking for."  
"Why are they looking for an amulet?" Xander asked. "Don't big evil demons like them want something more? Like an apocalypse or something?"  
"The amulet was very powerful." Giles answered. "It contained a dangerous spirit, able to posess any living creature it wanted."  
"That sounds kinda normal around here." Willow said.  
"This entity was actually a powerful sorcerer, able to move anything at will, destroy anything it pleased, kill anyone it..."  
"Alright, alright." Spike interupted. "This thing is evil. Very evil. Now what?"  
"Premarian Amulet..." Willow murmered. "Oh! It's at the museum! I've seen it!" she suddenly blurtted out.  
"Don't you think the demons would've looked there already?" Riley asked.  
"Well, they can't understand our language, so they couldn't find out from anyone where it was." Giles answered. "We just got lucky."  
"We'd better get the amulet before our luck runs out, then." Buffy said. She stood up. "We'll need lots of weapons. Xander, you still got some weapons from when you were Action Man?" she asked.  
"Yeah, I'll get them." he answered.  
"Good, meet me at the museum. College is on the way. I'll stop by and get some supplies." Buffy said.  
"I'm coming, too." Willow told her. Buffy looked at her.  
"Are you sure you want to get involved? It'll be very dangerous." Buffy asked her. Willow nodded.  
"I've never said no before. I'm sure as hell not gonna say it now." Willow answered.  
"Thank you. You help Spike get his weapons. Riley can help me." Buffy said. Willow nodded.  
"Huh?" Spike grunted. "I don't need any help." he claimed.  
"Shut up. You're getting it." Buffy replied. "Meet us at the museum."  
"What can I do?" Giles asked, eager to help.  
"We'll need your knowledge, and also your car." Buffy told him. Giles nodded, then stopped.  
"My car?" he asked, confused.  
"Just in case." Buffy said. "You can take us to the college." She looked around at everyone. "Alright, let's get ready for war." she said, and everyone left Giles' house.  
  
Xander ran into his basement, followed by Anya. He frantically started looking through his boxes around the place. Anya looked through some, then slowed down. "Xander?" she asked.  
"Yes?" Xander replied.  
"Why don't we get married?" she asked. Xander suddenly froze. He turned around and walked over to her.  
"I don't think..." he struggled. "I don't think I'm ready for marriage." he said. "I'm not ready for that type of commitment."  
"But, if we get through this, do you think we might one day?" Anya asked.  
"I don't know. There's a fight going on in my head. One part of me wants to marry you. The other is just to frightened to get into that." Xander told her. "After this, we'll have to see who won the fight."  
"Ok." Anya replied. "I think I understand." Xander smiled, which made Anya smile. He kissed her. After about ten seconds, they stopped.  
"We'd better find these weapons, first." Xander explained. Anya nodded, and they carried on searching through his basement.  
  
Willow walked into Spike's crypt, looking around. It was dark, so it was a good job she'd brought her small flashlight along. Spike opened a large chest and took out some weapons and handed them to Willow. "Wow." she said. "Where did you get all these?"  
"Mainly stole them off dead demons." Spike answered. "Some I've kept handy for ages." He handed her a mace, then a crossbow. She couldn't carry anything else. Spike closed the chest, and pushed it to one side. He picked up to large swords, and put one behind his back. The jacket held it in place, and also stopped it from stabbing him in the back. He took the crossbow, leaving Willow with the mace and another crossbow.  
"This it?" Willow asked. Spike nodded.  
"Not a lot else we can bring with us." He walked towards the exit, then stopped. "Actually, there is one last thing." he said, and then turned quickly and kissed her. Willow was about to struggle, but decided not to. His lips felt like ice. She'd forgotten that human and vampire body heats were different. Spike stopped kissing her, leaving her standing, speechless. "In case we don't make it." Spike said, then turned around and left the crypt. Willow stood where she was for a few moments, then followed.  
  
Buffy, Riley and Giles arrived at the museum first. They'd brought nearlly all Buffy's weapons. They got out of the car. "Everything seems quiet." Giles stated the obvious.  
"The others should be here soon." Buffy informed the other two. They saw Spike and Willow running down the road with weapons in hand. pike also had a sword in the back of his jacket. They ran up to them.  
"We late?" Willow asked, out of breath.  
"No." Riley told her. "Looks like we may not need these weapons after all." Suddenly the alarm rang out from the museum, as did a couple of gunshots.  
"Then again..." Spike replied. Buffy gripped her crossbow and axe.  
"Giles, Willow, wait for Xander and Anya to get here. Then come in and help us." Buffy told them.  
"No problem." Willow replied. Buffy nodded, then her, Riley, who was armed with another axe and a sword, and Spike ran into the museum.  
They had no trouble finding the group of five Sinkata demons. They were trashing the place, looking for the Premarian Amulet. Three guards were scattered around the floor, all with their heads sliced in half. Buffy fired her crossbow, getting one of the demons in the back of the head, killing it. The other four stopped what they were doing and looked at them. They roared, then charged at them. Spike fired his crossbow, the arrow firing straight into the nearest demon's chest. It ripped it out, and carried on towards him.  
One demon came for Riley. He swung his axe at it, the blade digging into the creature's arm. It howled in pain, and knocked Riley bacwards with a backhand punch in the face. It launched itself at him, but Riley rolled out of it's way. He swung his sword, cutting it's claw off. The creature screamed loudly, then Riley sliced it's head off.  
Another demon charged at Spike. He threw the crossbow at it, hitting it in the face. The demon seemed unaffected, and smashed Spike in the face. He flew backwards into a wall, dropping his sword. The demon snatched it out of the air and swung at Spike. He ducked, then pulled the sword from his jacket out, deflecting another blow. The two engaged in a fierce sword fight.  
The third demon went for Buffy. She ran at it, and run up it, kicking it in the leg, chest and face in the process. She backflipped in the air, and landed on her feet. The demon grabbed her arm and threw her across the room while the other demon kept looking for the amulet.  
Riley ran at the last demon, ready to drive his sword into the back of it's head. The demon spun round and dodged the blade. It grabbed Riley's head and lifted him in the air. Riley realised he was about to be killed, and tried to break the demon's tight grip. Suddenly, the side of the demon's head exploded outwards in a shower of blood and bone. It dropped Riley, who instantly picked up his sword. Everybody stopped what they were doing and looked at the entrance where the shotgun shell came from. Willow and Giles where there, along with Anya and Xander, who were armed to the teeth with guns. Xander reloaded his shotgun, and looked at the two remaining demons.  
"Party's over." he said, and fired again. The shell hit the wall next to the diving demon that was attacking Buffy, while the other demon continued it's sword fight with Spike. The demon swung it's sword hard, and it sliced through Spike's hand, severing it. Spike flew sideways slightly, holding his stump. He shouted out in agony, then turned around. The demon was preparing to swing it's sword to decapitate him, when suddenly Willow smashed it in the head with her mace. The demon staggered sideways, and Giles sliced into it's head with a sword.  
The final demon hurled Buffy across the room, and she crashed into Riley. They both hit the floor, and the demon saw what it came for. So did Buffy. "Shit!" she said as the demon walked over to it. She grabbed Riley's swowd and threw it. It sliced into the demon's arm. It clutched it, screaming, and Buffy dived foward and grabbed the amulet. She stood up and looked over to Xander. "Grenade!" she shouted, and dived over a broken case. Xander wondered what she was going on about as she ran out of the museum. The demon followed, then did Xander.  
Buffy threw her axe at the car windshield, and tossed the amulet through the smashed glass. She ran sideways, and the demon jumped onto the car. It crawled through the hole, then Xander realised her plan. He pulled a grenade from his pocket, pulled the pin out, and rolled it under Giles' car. It detonated, and the car, along with the demon and the amulet, went up in a huge explosion.   
Everyone else ran out to see the explosion, and they sheilded their eyes. Buffy and Xander walked over to them, and they all observed the wreckage. "It's over." Buffy said. Suddenly, the demon ran out of the firey wreckage towards them, screaming. Anya fired her machine gun, having finally worked out how to use it properly, and tore the demon to pieces with the rain of bullets. It dropped to the ground, dead.  
"Now it is." she said. They all watched the fire for a moment, then the smile from Giles' face slowly diminished.  
"My car..." he murmered, distresed.  
"It was for the greater good." Buffy told him.  
"I think we'd better go. We've done all we can here." Riley said.  
"Yeah. And my absent hand is killing me." Spike added. They walked away from the museum as sirens from all three emergency services sounded through the night air.  
  
Xander and Anya walked into his basement and layed on the bed, exhausted. "Anya," Xander said.  
"Yeah?" Anya replied.  
"You know what we talked about before?" he asked.  
"Uh-huh." Anya answered.  
"I think we should get a place first. See what it's like living together first."  
"Ok." She layed on her side to look at him. "That's fine. I understand. And agree." Xander looked at her and kissed her.  
"Good." he replied, kissing her again.  
  
Willow walked into Spike's crypt. "Spike?" she called. Spike appeared round a corner. His had was bandaged up.  
"Red." he replied. Willow nodded at the bandage.  
"Does it still hurt?" she asked. He nodded.  
"A bit. It'll grow back." he replied. "Good thing about being a vampire." Willow walked over to him.  
"Before we went to the museum, you kissed me." she reminded him. If Spike actually had a circulation, he'd probably have gone red. "Why?"  
"Why do you think?" he replied calmly. "It's because I like you. I thought I'd let you know that before we could have all been killed." Willow wasn't sure what to say next. "Don't worry. If you'd prefer me to burn in hell, I'd understand." She stopped him from turning away and kissed him. After what seemed an eternity, she stopped and looked up at him.  
"We'd better keep this a secret for now." she told him. "The others might freak."  
"Yeah." Spike replied. They kissed again, then Willow stepped back.  
"I'd better go." she explained. Spike nodded. "Bye." she said, and walked out of the crypt.  
"Bye." Spike said quietly.  
  
In the darkness of the factory, the final three Sinkata demons were chanting around a small fire. One of the demons picked up an amulet from the floor and dangled it in the fire. They carried on chanting, and a blueish gas came from the amulet. It swirled around in the air, then suddenly drifted over to a man in the corner. He'd been tied up, and looked on in horror. He screamed out, but the gas entered his mouth and nose. The man stopped screaming, and dropped to the floor. The demons finished chanting and turned to look at the man. After long seconds of stillness, the body stood up. He ripped the ropes apart, freeing himself. The man's eyes glowed red, and his mouth formed a smile. It looked at the demons, and raised his arm. The demons stood where they were, and suddenly they started merging into one. The man watched as the demons cried out in imense pain as he started to make a new demon. The final days of world had begun, and there was nothing that could stop it. 


	2. Only Hope

ONLY HOPE  
  
Frankie Rangler walked down the dark street towards the video rental shop. It was late at night, but it stayed open 'till midnight. He wondered why the street was so deserted. Usually there was one or two groups of people walking around. Tonight, there was nobody.  
He walked round the corner and looked ahead, down the road. Down the other end was something big. Very, very big. It was striding towards him, alarmingly fast. Frankie instinctivly ran as fast as possible away from the creature, and dived into a dumpster head-first. He hoped the creature hadn't turned the corner in time to see him hide, and layed there in silence.  
Endless moments past, and Frankie thought he could here something outside the dumpster. He was too petrified to move. After a few more seconds, the dumpster started to crumple inwards. "Oh, shit!" Frankie shouted, realising the creature had found him. The edge of the dumpster pinned his leg down, and he was unable to get out. The creature looked into the dumpster at Frankie, reached in and gripped his head. It squeezed it, and Frankie's skull seemed to pop under the imense pressure.  
  
Willow knocked on the door to Spike's crypt and walked in. He got up off his bed and walked over to her, avoiding the light. Willow closed the door and faced him. "Hi." she said, uneasily.  
"Hi." he replied. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"  
"Nothing. Just came to see how your new hand was coming along." Willow answered, pointing to his shorter arm. He looked at it briefly.  
"It's started coming back." he informed her. "Won't be playing the piano for a while, though." Willow looked around.  
"You play the piano?" she asked, interested in his could-be hobby.  
"No." Spike told her. "It's just a figure of speech." He walked over to her and kissed her. Willow didn't stop him, and they stopped after a while. "Nobody knows still, right?" Spike asked.  
"Nope. This relationship is still secret." Willow answered. "Will it always have to be like this?"  
"Not always. But it's best the others don't know yet. They might go, you know, ape shit. Espescialy the Slayer." Spike reminded her.  
"Not if I explain it right." Willow told him. "She's my best friend, she won't go mental if I tell her how I feel."  
"But she might." Spike replied. "She might try to talk you out of it. And I don't want that. I don't want to lose you." Willow smiled and kissed him.  
"You won't." she said, and turned around and left the crypt.  
  
"So," Buffy said, leaning on her side in bed. "We saved the world. When do you think will be a good time to get married?"  
"How about, in about two weeks?" Riley answered.  
"Yeah. That sound's good." Buffy said. "A strictly no work day."  
"No work and all play." Riley added, smiling. So did Buffy.  
"Makes a Slayer..." she continued, slowly stopping. "Something that rhymes with play."  
"Gay?" Riley asked.  
"No." Buffy told him, lowering her eyebrow at him. He laughed.  
"Thank God." he said. He leaned over and kissed her. They were interupted by Riley's phone ringing. He reached over Buffy and picked it up. "Hello?" he said. He then passed it to Buffy. "It's Giles."  
"Hey." she said into the phone.  
"Buffy, I have some bad news." Giles told her. "There was a body found in a dumpster last night."  
"Ok, that's bad. But not unusual for Sunnydale." Buffy replied.  
"But the man's head was crushed. Not that dissimilar to the way the Sinkata demons killed their victims." Giles added.  
"Damn." Buffy said. "I'll be right over." She put the phone back.  
"What's happened?" Riley asked.  
"Just another unusual death in the Hell that is known as Sunnydale." Buffy answered. "I'll be back soon." She kissed him, then got out of the bed and dressed herself.  
  
Buffy walked into Giles' house. Xander, Anya and Willow were already there. Buffy walked over to them and sat down. "So," she said. "What's the deal?" Giles walked in and put a photo on the table.  
"Here's what the scene looks like." he said. The body had been removed, but the dumpster was still there.  
"Damn, look at that dumpster!" Xander remarked. "It's like something crushed it like it was made of paper or something."  
"Strong demon." Buffy stated. "But I don't think it was one of the Sinkata demons. This was stronger." Giles nodded.  
"Probably. The killing was similar, though. It might be like the Sinkata demons." he said.  
"Only stronger." Willow added.  
"Ok. My plan is we find it and kick it's ass." Xander said. Everyone looked at him. "What? What's wrong with that?" he asked franticaly.  
"Nothing." Buffy answered. "As far as plans go, it doesn't have a flaw."  
"Except the finding part." Giles added.  
"And possibaly the kicking of it's ass bit, too." Willow said.  
"But it's the only plan. Check reports for sightings, blah blah blah, check what it is, yadda yadda yadda, you know the drill." Buffy told everyone. "I'll look around. First I'll get Riley." She stood up and left the house.  
"We'll ask around, see if anyone's seen it before." Xander said, and he and Anya left as well. Willow looked around.  
"I'll quickly go ask Spike if he knows anything about it." she told Giles, and started walking towards the door.  
"You seem to be spending a lot of time over there." Giles said.  
"Where?" Willow asked, starting to worry about the questioning.  
"Spike's." Giles answered. "You seem to spend most of your time there."  
"No I don't." she defended herself. "I'm just checking to see how he's doing, that's all. He did help save our lives, you know." Giles raised his hands slightly in defeat, and Willow left. Giles shrugged and walked over to the bookshelf.  
  
Buffy and Riley walked into the bar where demons hung out for most of their time. They walked over to the bar and Willy walked over to them. "Oh, no. Not him." he said, pointing to Riley. "He's barred."  
"Why?" Buffy asked.  
"Last time he was in here, he tried to kill one of my customers. And I didn't like his atitude." Willy replied. Riley leant on the counter so he could move closer to Willy.  
"I was ill then. I'm better now." he explained. "Just don't annoy me."  
"Have you heard any talk about something strong, probably big?" Buffy asked him, changing the subject quickly. Willy shook his head.  
"No. But the demons are getting very scared about something." Willy answered. "Maybe it's that."  
"Not very helpful, but it's a start." Riley said. "Let's see if there's anywhere else we can find things out from." Riley and Buffy headed for the exit.  
"Slayer," a demon in the corner growled. She stopped and looked at him. "You don't know what you're up against." it warned her.  
"Do you?" she asked. The demon shook it's head.  
"All I know is that it's stronger than anything I've ever known." it told her. Buffy looked at the demon for a moment, then both she and Riley left the bar.  
  
Xander was driving his car down the almost pitch black street to Anya's place. He'd promised to pick her up so they could do something together that night. There wasn't much he could do to help with finding the new demon his friends where looking for, so he'd decided to make the most of his time in case he ended up dead.  
The part of town he was in was pretty quiet. There wasn't many people around. Only a group of kids playing near the road. Xander drove closer towards them, and suddenly one of them screamed and ran down the road, followed closley by his buddys. Xander wondered what made them do that, until suddenly it landed on the bonnet of his car.  
Xander didn't have time to react as a big, hefty looking demon landed on the front of his car, smashing it up. The vehicle stopped suddenly, and Xander jerked foward. He looked up and saw the demon staring at him. "Shit!" he murmered, and it swung at him. He ducked it, unbuckled his saftey belt and rolled out of the door he just opened. He got to his feet and ran from the demon, but it untangled itself from the wreckage and chased after him.  
The demon wasn't very fast, but it was still gaining on Xander. He ran past the corner and suddenly heard a car horn. He looked slightly to the side of him and saw a black, open topped convertable driving towards him. It stopped, and Xander dived into the back seats. The driver hit the gas just before the demon reached them, leaving it behind. Xander stopped watching the demon and faced the driver.  
"You Ok?" Angel asked. Xander nodded.  
"Yeah. Thanks." he replied.  
  
"Dammit!" Spike cursed loudly. He threw the sword at the wall. The metalic sound echoed in the crypt as Willow entered. He spun round to see who it was.  
"Hey." Willow said, wondering what was going on. "What's going on?"  
"Nothing." Spike answered quickly. "Just practicing. Fighting. I can't do anything with my hand like this. I'm right-handed. I need my right hand. Why couldn't that bloody demon took my left one?"  
"Don't worry about it. It'll grow back very soon. Two days at the most. Then you can go back to right hand fights, writing, all the rest." Willow told him, trying to comfort him. "Anyway, have you heard about a kinda big demon? Strong?" Spike looked at her.  
"No. Been stuck in this piss-hole since I was handicapped. Don't get a lot of visitors, as you could imagine." Spike replied.  
"Oh." Willow said. "Don't worry about it." She turned around to leave.  
"Wait," Spike said. Willow stopped, then turned around. "If you or the others need my help with this thing..."  
"When your hand grows back, you can help us kill it. But I don't want you getting yourself killed while you're not at your best." Willow explained. Spike nodded, and Willow walked out.  
  
Buffy walked into Giles house, fresh from finding out nothing. "Nothing. Only one freaky demon said..." She noticed Angel standing in the corner. "Angel..." she said, not beleiving he was there. "What...?"  
"Don't worry." he said. "I'm strictly here on business." Buffy nodded.  
"Good." she said, not knowing what else she could say.  
"You said something about a demon saying something." Giles reminded her.  
"Oh, yeah." Buffy replied. "He said that I didn't know what I was up against."  
"How'd he know that?" Xander asked. Buffy shrugged.  
"Hey," she said suddenly. "Aren't you and Anya supposed to be on a date?"  
"Yeah, but my car was horribly mutilated by some very big, strong demon who fits the description of what we're looking for." Xander replied.  
"You were attacked by it?" Buffy asked.  
"Yup." Xander answered. "If it wasn't for Angel, I'd be flattened all over the tarmac right now."  
"No problem." Angel said. "Where's that Riley boy?"  
"At his place." Buffy answered. "I think it's best you two don't cross paths."  
"Yeah. Good idea." Angel replied. "Well, I'd better go before the sun comes up. I'll be staying at my old place." Xander jumped up.  
"Could you drop me off at Anya's? I'd better see if she's alright." he asked. Angel looked at him, confused.  
"Where does she live?" he asked. Xander put his jacket on.  
"Don't worry, I'll direct you." he told him, and he left the house. Angel followed, closing the door behind him. Buffy watched them leave, then turned to Giles.  
"He doesn't know about..." She held her hand up, showing Giles the wedding ring.  
"No." Giles answered. "We think it's best if you tell him." Buffy nodded.  
"I guess." she said. "I just don't know how I'm gonna break it to him."  
"It better be soon, or he might find out some other way." Giles told her.   
  
Anya heard a knocking at her door. She'd been waiting for Xander after he called her almost half an hour ago. She walked over to the door and opened it. She suddenly felt the door slam into her, knocking her off her feet. She looked up and saw three brownish coloured demons walking into her home. One of them picked her up. "She's the one." it said.  
"Good." replied another. "Take her."  
"I don't think so." came a voice behind them. The three demons turned around as Xander punched the first demon in the face. The other two went for him as Angel tried to get in, but an invisible force-field stopped him. "Invite him in!" Xander shouted to Anya as the two demons charged him into a wall.  
"Come in!" Anya said to Angel. He burst into the room and grabbed the demon getting up from the floor. He snapped it's neck, killing it instantly. He ran over to the other two and grabbed the left one. He hurled it into another wall, then kicked the third demon in the back of the leg. It knelt down slightly as Xander took his penkb=nife out and stabbed it in the eye. The demon screamed in pain as it fell to the floor. The scream stopped abrubtly as Xander stabbed it again.  
Angel jumped in the air and flying-kicked the last demon in the head. It was knocked backwards, and Angel gripped it's neck, pinning it up against the wall. "What are you doing here?" he asked.  
"She's the one." The demon struggled to say.  
"One what?" Xander asked.  
"Only she has the power to stop it." the demon answered.  
"Stop what?" Angel asked.  
"The end of days is coming. You can't prevent it. Neither can the Slayer. Only she has the power." The demon chocked. Angel let go.  
"Why'd you try to knock me out with the door, then?" Anya asked, holding a small towel on the side of her forehead to stop the blood trickling down her face.  
"It was an accident." the demon insisted. "That's all. We thought you were here to kill her."  
"You were wrong there." Xander told him. Anya leant on his side.  
"And you were wrong about us. You killed the other two." the demon reminded them.  
"We're sorry." Angel said. "We had no idea."  
"If we're going to stop this, we need her." the demon explained.  
"The hell with that!" Xander replied. "You help us, ok? We're both on the same side. We could both use help."  
"We don't have much time." the demon told him. "Tommorow, at about 11 at night, meet me and my team at Willy's Place. Bring you're friends along. My name is Fletchin." he said, then left Anya's home. Xander hugged Anya tight.  
"Are you ok?" he asked. Anya nodded.  
"My head hurts a lot, but I'm otherwise fine." she replied.  
"I'll meet you tommorow at Willy's." Angel told them, trying not to see Anya's blood. "See you then." he said, leaving. He closed the door.  
  
Buffy had explained the Angel situation to Riley. He still had lots of questions about it, even when they went to bed. "Does he know yet?" Riley asked. Buffy shook her head.  
"No. I'm going to tell him tomorrow." she replied.  
"Ok." Riley said. "Are you sure you want to tell him?"  
"He has a right to know. The sooner I tell him, the better. " Buffy explained. "But, if you're worried, it doesn't change anything. I love you, and Angel knows that." Riley smiled.  
"I wasn't worried." Buffy kissed him. The phone rang.  
"Why does that keep happening?" she asked, then picked the phone up. "Hello?"  
"Buffy?" Giles asked.  
"Yeah."  
"Something's happened. Something big. Meet me at my place tomorrow. I'll explain to you what's going on."  
"Why can't you tell me now?"  
"It'll take ages, and I want to watch something on T.V."  
"Ok. I'll be there in the morning." Buffy put the receiver back, then rolled over to face Riley again.  
"Who was that?" Riley asked.  
"Giles." Buffy answered. "Something big's happened. I don't think it's that big, though."  
"Why not?" Riley asked, confused.  
"He's chosen watching T.V. over explaining some demon mythology stuff to me. That very rarely happens. In fact, I don't think it's ever happened." Buffy replied. She kissed him again. "Goodnight." she said, then turned out the light. 


	3. Revelations

REVELATIONS  
  
"Tatra astratta ormistroben azarta eargrets deridsa veratos canda"  
Anya suddenly bolted upright in her bed, covered in sweat. She had been asleep. She was dreaming about the usual (Xander, sex, not being dead) when some strange words were chanted loudly. She'd never heard them before, and she didn't know what they meant. She tried remembering them as she got out of bed in search for a pen and piece of paper, but they'd happened so suddenly she hadn't had time to remember them. She gave up. "Dammit." she muttered as she walked back into her room and got back into her bed.  
  
A group of three vampires had been chasing a young woman through the town for a short while when she hit her foot on the edge of a drain grating and fell over. She rolled onto her back to see the vampires walking over to her. The leader bent over to look her directly in the face. "Which'll it be, honey?" he asked, mockingly. "We just kill you, or turn you into one of us?" He laughed, triggering the other two to start laughing with him.  
"Neither." said a voice behind them. As soon as they heard it, one of the minions turned to dust. As it drifted to the ground, the two remaining vampires saw a tallish man wearing a black jacket, red jumper and had bleached, slicked back hair. But it wasn't a man. The vampires could sense it was one of them. And not just any vampire.  
"Spike..." the leader murmered loudly, staring at the vampire. Spike smiled.  
"You were expecting someone else?" he asked. The second vampire ran at him, but didn't stand a chance as Spike swiftly staked him. The remaining vampire forgot about the woman as she fled down the street. Instead he charged at Spike. Spike aimed the stake foward, allowing the vampire to run straight into it. As the last vampire's remains drifted away in the air, Spike looked at both his hands. He laughed, then walked back down an alley.  
  
"It sounded latin?" Giles asked Anya about the chanting in her dream.  
"Yeah." she answered. "I don't remember how it went." Xander clicked his fingers.  
"Could this be to do with this business that Fletchin or whatever his name was was talking about?" he asked.  
"Maybe." Giles answered. "We'll have to ask him tonight."  
"I think it's a bunch of crap, personaly." Anya mentioned. "I can't see me being Earth's only hope."  
"Yes. It defeats us all." Giles replied. Anya gave him a funny look.  
"Hey!" she said.  
"Maybe the words were part of some kind of ritual." Giles suddenly thought aloud.  
"Ritual for what?" Xander asked.  
"I'm not sure." Giles answered. "Are you sure you didn't dream of anything else?" he asked Anya.  
"Sure." she replied. "When've we gotta go to that bar again?" she asked Xander.  
"Eleven." he answered. "We might go earlier, though. Depends how bad I want to get drunk."  
"We're not going so you can get drunk." Giles told him. "We're there to find out about what we're up against."  
"And I'm not helping drag you back home."Anya added.  
"Are you sure we can trust this demon?" Giles asked them. "He did give Anya that big cut on her head." Anya felt the bandage covering it up.  
"Not the politest of entrances." Xander said. "But it's the only lead we've got. May as well try it. And if this demon tries anything, we can just kick it's ass."  
"Can't disagree with that." Anya told him.  
  
Buffy walked into Angel's old residence. It looked slightly different than it used to. More dusty, and older than it's old look before. Angel walked round the corner to see who had entered. "Buffy." he stated the obvious. "What are you doing here?"  
"Just dropping by." she explained. "Actualy, I have something to tell you." Buffy coughed slightly and looked at the ground, not sure how to bring it up. "Me and Riley are..." she began.  
"Getting married." Angel finished. Buffy was suprisingly shocked at how he knew this. And how he'd said it so bluntly.  
"How did you...?" she began to ask. Again, Angel butted in.  
"That wedding ring on your finger kinda gave it away." he explained. Buffy looked at it, then at Angel.  
"I thought I'd better tell you." she told him.  
"Look," Angel said. "It doesn't bother me that much anymore. Riley can take you places before dark, won't lose his soul and kill everyone... I could never give you that. I finished our relationship for a reason. That reason." Buffy couldn't think of anything to say for a while.  
"You're dealing with me and Riley a lot better than last time you where here." she said.  
"I've done some thinking." Angel replied. Buffy wandered around, then faced Angel again.  
"You still coming tonight? To Willy's?" she asked. Angel nodded.  
"I'm here to help stop this thing. Of course I'm going." he answered. Buffy nodded.  
"Riley'll be there." she warned.  
"It's fine." Angel told her. "I'm ok with it."  
"Just telling you so you know in advance." Buffy explained. "I'd better go. I'm supposed to be meeting Giles about this Anya stuff." she told him. Angel nodded.  
"See you later, then." he said. Buffy walked out into the sunlight as Angel went back around the corner to avoid it.  
  
Willow walked into the crypt, trying to let as little light in as possible. Spike turned around to see her, then waved using his new hand. "Look what I got!" he told her. Willow walked over to him.  
"I told you it'd grow back." she said. "There's something happening tonight at Willy's Place. We're meeting a demon about what's going on."  
"Night?" Spike asked, wondering if he'd actually be able to get there without going up like a match.  
"Yeah." Willow answered. "But I'm not sure if you should go." Spike gave her a questioning look.  
"Why not?" he asked.  
"Angel's going. He doesn't know about you. He might get, you know, angry." Willow replied.  
"Angel? He's here in Sunnydale?" Spike asked. Willow nodded. "Damn! When'd he get here?"  
"Yesterday. Last night." Willow told him.  
"He's gonna find out sooner or later." Spike explained. "Better it be sooner. And from me."  
"Alright then." Willow said, giving in. "But don't start fighting each other." Spike laughed.  
"Promise." he told her, then held her tight, kissing her at the same time. They were suddenly interupted by a ringing sound. Willow took her phone out of her pocket.  
"Hello?" she asked. Spike watched, he didn't know Willow actually owned a cellphone. "Ok." she said, then pressed a button and replaced it into her jacket. "I gotta go." she said.  
"Yeah. See you tonight." Spike replied. "What time?"  
"About eleven." Willow answered. Spike nodded. Willow left, then Spike remembered something. He didn't have a watch. Or clock. And couldn't use a sundial in case he combusted.  
"Damn." he said to himself.  
  
Riley heard a knock at his dorm room door. He stood up and opened it. Buffy walked in, kissing him on the way past. "Hi." she said.  
"Hi." Riley replied. "What's new on the big bad front?"  
"Xander and Anya met up with a demon who's promising info on it." Buffy answered. "We've gotta go to Willy's again tonight.  
"Ok." Riley replied. "When?"  
"About eleven." Buffy told him.  
"Who's going?" Riley asked.  
"Oh, everyone. Me, you, Will, Giles, just about everyone who knows about it." Buffy answered.  
"Angel?" Riley asked, bluntly.  
"Yeah." Buffy replied. "But if it bothers you..."  
"It doesn't. As long as we don't start fighting again." Riley answered.  
"Good. That won't happen." Buffy told him.  
"Anyway, how do we know we can trust this demon?" Riley questioned.  
"We don't." Buffy replied. "If worst comes to the worst, we'll just kill it."  
"Good tactics." Riley told her. She smiled. "What'll we do before then?"  
"We'll think of something." Buffy replied. Riley kissed her.  
  
Nightfall. Angel decided he'd wander around for a while to pass the time away. Maybe even slay a few vampires as he did so. He walked into the graveyard, looking around for anything. He saw nothing. He carried on searching. It reminded him of the days when he stayed in Sunnydale. When he was with Buffy. He tried not to remember his feelings in case they got in the way of his fighting. When he found out she was engaged, it had shocked him. But he knew he couldn't do anything like that, due to him being immortal and her not being. Even with the revelation that he'd one day be human, he realised it wouldn't be while Buffy was alive.  
Something caught his eye. Something moving. Angel quickly hid behind a bush to get a better veiw. He looked at the person. It was Willow. He was puzzled slightly as to why she was alone in the graveyard at night, but he thought he'd better not give himself away. Instead, he followed her to see where she was going, and, more importantly, to stop her from being killed.  
Willow stopped at a crypt, and Angel hid behind another bush. Willow looked around, but didn't see him. Angel watched as she opened the door and walked in. Angel quickly jogged over to the entrance and peered round. He saw Willow in the crypt, then someone else emerge from the shadows. It quickly walked over to Willow as Angel recognized him. "Spike..." he murmered, then charged in. Spike looked at him, recognized him, then got the full force of Angel's fist in his face.  
"Angel! Stop!" Willow cried out as Angel leapt over to Spike, ready to dust him with the stake he had. Angel stopped himself from driving the stake into Spike's heart, then jumped up, away from him.  
"What? Why?" he asked her. Spike stood up, holding his bleeding nose.  
"Ever heard of knocking on the door?" Spike asked, pissed off.  
"It's complicated." Willow explained.  
"He was gonna kill you!" Angel explained, defending himself.  
"No I wasn't!" Spike replied. "I can't kill people anymore."  
"That's right!" Willow said.  
"Huh?" Angel grunted, getting confused. "Why not?"  
"Got a chip put in my head to stop me." Spike explained. "Can't hurt or kill people anymore. But I can kill demons and vampires." Willow nodded in agreament.  
"Well, if that's true, why'd he go for you like that?" Angel asked, puzzled.  
"Because, er, because..." Willow tried to think of an excuse.  
"You may as well tell him." Spike told her. Angel looked at the two.  
"Tell me what?" he asked, even more confused.  
"Well, me and Spike are..." she started, but found it hard to explain.  
"In love with each other." Spike finished her sentance. This topped off Angel's confusion.  
"What?" he asked, not quite beleiving it.  
"We're together now." Willow told him. "But you can't tell anybody. Especially not Buffy."  
"She's gonna find out sooner or later." Angel told her.  
"Yeah, from me." Willow replied. "Just not yet. It'll complicate things." Angel looked at Spike.  
"You really can't kill anybody?" he asked.  
"I already told you. Now piss off." Spike answered. Angel stared at him, grinned slightly, then walked out. "Bastard." Spike muttered.  
  
Buffy looked at her watch. 10.57. Close enough. She walked into Willy's Place with Riley, Xander, Anya and Giles. Angel was going to meet them there, as was Willow. Angel was already there, and they walked over to him. Angel turned around and stood up. He looked at Riley, who looked back. They didn't say anything. Buffy could feel the tension between them. "Where's Willow?" she asked.  
"She was..." Angel began. He then remembered Willow didn't want him to let anyone know, so tried to think of an excuse.  
"I'm here." Willow told her, walking towards them. Spike followed her. Buffy looked at him, then Willow.  
"What's he doing here?" she asked. Willow looked at Spike.  
"He's helping." Willow answered.  
"I already know he's here." Angel explained. "I've met him already."  
"Hey, I can talk, you know." Spike told them, sick of being ignored.  
"Yeah, fine, whatever." Buffy said, giving up. "I don't have time to argue." She looked around.  
"Slayer!" came a voice from one side of the bar. They all turned to see who it was. Buffy and Riley recognised it from the previous day in the bar. Xander, Anya and Angel recognised it as the demon they let go last night. Giles recognised it as an Estratten demon. Willow didn't recognise the demon. Spike recognised the demon nearby who owed him money. The demon stood up after seeing Spike and quickly left.  
"Fletchin." Xander stated, remembering the name. Fletchin nodded.  
"You have information on this new danger?" Giles asked him.  
"Yeah." Fletchin answered. "And how to stop it."  
"Spill." Buffy demanded, sitting down.  
"About 600 years ago, a sorcerer living in Premaria was caught by witch-hunters. They burnt his house down, but the sorcerer's body was never found. It was thought that he'd cast a spell to protect his spirit in the amulet he always wore." Fletchin explained.  
"The Premarian Amulet..." Giles said, recognising the tale.  
"Huh?" Willow asked. "Didn't we destroy it?"  
"Obviously not." Giles told her.  
"Anyway, a group of Sinkata demons have been searching for it for ages now. When they get it, they would be able to free the spirit. This would then be able to possess any living thing it wanted." Fletchin continued.  
"How do we stop it?" Buffy asked, eagerly."  
"You don't." Fletchin told her, bluntly. "She does." He pointed at Anya. "She is The One. The one who can destroy the Sorcerer of Premaria."  
"How do I do that?" Anya asked, starting to like being 'The One' for a change.  
"In the days coming up to the final battle, you shall gain new powers and knowledge. With these, you can stop the Sorcerer before he causes the destruction of Earth." Fletchin explained. "This is all I know."  
"Well, that leaves a lot to be asked." Buffy told him, slightly annoyed that they didn't learn much from this.  
"It will all be understandable soon." Fletchin told her. He stood up, took his jacket off the chair, and walked towards the exit. He turned around. "Protect her." he told them, pointing to Anya again. "If she dies, then we all do." With that, he spun around and left the bar.  
  
Buffy and Willow walked into their dorm room as they got back from their meeting. Willow closed the door and walked over to her bed. She sat on it. "What's with Spike keep helping us?" Buffy asked, just out of curiosity. "I thought he kept saying he hated us all."  
"He's different." Willow told her. "Why does it bother you that he wants to help stop this thing?"  
"It doesn't." Buffy exclaimed. "It's just strange."  
"He's changed. A lot. You don't know what he's like." Willow tried to explain.  
"How do you?" Buffy asked, wondering why she kept sticking up for him. And seeing him more than usual. Willow suddenly froze up, thinking of excuses.  
"I... erm.. We..." she tried saying. She then stopped and decided to tell her the truth. "We're in love." Buffy's jaw dropped.  
"Huh? Wha? Da?" Buffy asked. Willow wasn't sure what she was saying exactly, but knew what she was trying to ask.  
"What? I can't fall in love with a vampire, but you can?" she asked.  
"Angel was different!" Buffy told her. "He had a soul! He didn't try to kill us repeatedly..." She then remembered when he lost his soul, and had tried to kill her, Willow and everyone else.  
"Or is it that Spike isn't female? Is that it?" Willow asked her.  
"No!" Buffy explained.  
"I'm not a lesbian, I'm bi-sexual!" she insisted. "Nobody remembers that."  
"Look, Spike's evil." Buffy told her bluntly. "I thought even you knew that. He even tried killing you!"  
"In the past, yeah!" Willow argued. "But this is now. And I love him now. And he loves me."  
"How do you know that?" Buffy asked, trying to convince her it's a bad idea dating a mass-murderer.  
"Because I do." Willow declared. "How do you know Riley doesn't love you?"  
"That's harsh." Buffy told her, realising she wasn't going to get through this argument without someone's feelings being hurt. Or even both of their's. "Look, I just want to make sure you don't get hurt, that's all."  
"I won't." Willow told her. "I'm gonna get some sleep."  
"Will, I'm sorry." Buffy told her, trying to clear things up between them. Willow stopped, then started calming down.  
"It's ok." she said. "I can see how you'd be worried." She smiled at her. "Still friends?"  
"Still friends." Buffy answered, smiling.  
  
"Tatra astratta ormistroben azarta eargrets deridsa veratos canda"  
Anya woke up instantly again. It was the second night in a row those words had been in her dreams. She looked over to her side at Xander, and shook his arm. He mumbled something, then woke up slowly. "What is it?" he asked, still half asleep.  
"I just heard the words again." she told him. Xander rubbed his eyes and sat up next to her. He put his arm around her.  
"I thought I heard something, too. It might've been you in your sleep." he explained.  
"How?" she asked. "I don't remember what they went like."  
"I don't know, then." Xander told her. "We'll ask Giles about it tomorrow. Try to get some sleep." He laid down again and closed his eyes. Anya stayed sitting up for a few moments, then laid down. She closed her eyes, trying to fall asleep. She couldn't.  
  



	4. Hard Times

HARD TIMES  
  
  
Xander woke up and looked to his side. Anya was gone. Xander sat up and looked around the room. She wasn't anywhere. "Anya?" Xander asked, waiting for a reply. He heard a mumbling from next to the bed. He rolled over and peered over the side to see Anya laying on the floor, twitching slightly in short spasms. She moaned quietly, like she was having a bad nightmare. Xander put his hand on her shoulder. She woke up like a shot, and bolted upright. Xander had to move his head to avoid Anya smashing her's into it. "Jesus, are you alright?" Xander asked. Anya was taking deep breaths. Her dream had shaken her up badly.  
"I don't know." Anya replied. "I heard the words. Only they were louder and more powerful." Xander got out of bed and sat on the floor next to Anya.  
"The words?" he asked. "You mean those latin type words?"  
"Yeah." Anya answered. She looked around, realising she was on the floor.  
"Why am I down here?" she asked.  
"You must've fallen out." Xander replied. He stood up, then helped Anya to her feet. "Let's get some breakfast. I'm hungry."  
"Yeah." Anya said. Xander walked out of the room in search of something to eat, but Anya stayed where she was for a few moments before following.  
  
The Sorcerer of Premaria stood over a small fire in the abandoned factory he'd chosen to stay in until the time is right. He was chanting something in a dead language. As he did so, the factory rumbled, then started shaking. The wooden floor started to crack, then splinters shot up from the ground. From underneath the floorboards, lots of arms burst through, pulling the rest of the bodies up with them. About 30 Sinkata demons emerged from the ground. They looked around at everything, wondering what was going on. Then they saw the Sorcerer of Premaria. They dropped to their knees and started bowing to him, worshiping him as if he was their God.  
  
"Tatra astratta ormistroben azarta eargrets deridsa veratos canda." Anya said. "Well, I think that's how it went, anyway." Giles took his glasses off and rubbed the bridge of his nose. A sort of symbol showing he was thinking which everyone knew by now.  
"I'll look it up. It sounds very familiar." Giles told her. Anya looked at Willow.  
"It's not a spell, is it?" she asked. Willow shook her head.  
"I've never heard of it." she replied.  
"It won't turn me into a frog or something, will it?" Anya asked her.  
"No. That spell goes differently." Willow reassured her. Anya nodded.  
"Good." she said. "Maybe it's something about this 'Promised One' stuff."  
"Could be." Giles agreed. "You better go back to your home. You look shattered."  
"She hasn't had a lot of sleep." Xander explained. He looked at Anya."I'll go with you." She nodded, then stood up. They left Gile's house, closing the door behind them. Giles continued searching through the book he was reading, repeating the words quietly to himself. Willow looked around at the almost abandoned room. She sat in silence for a few moments, then coughed. Giles looked up.  
"I'll just be off. Places to go." she explained. Giles nodded, and Willow stood up. She grabbed her bag and left the house.  
  
Angel was sitting in his old 'Home' away from the sunlight. He thought about what was going on, what was going to happen, but most of all, about Buffy and Riley. He sat in total silence, not moving a muscle. He then heard footsteps. On concrete. His floor. Someone was there. It didn't sound like Buffy much to Angel. Slightly, but definatly not her. He stood up and turned the corner. He faced the intruder, who's back was turned to him. "Can I help you?" he asked. He startled the young girl, who spun around to face him. Angel knew who she was before she had done.  
"Angel..." Faith stated. "I thought you'd be here." Angel took a couple of steps towards her.  
"What are you doing here?" he asked. She smiled in her usual, excited way.  
"Heard there was an apocalypse about to happen from your work-force." she told him. "Wanted to help stop it."  
"How did you get out of prison?" Angel asked her. He prayed she didn't break out and escape."Funny really." she told him. "Parole." Angel smiled.  
"No escaping?" he asked.  
"No escaping." she replied. Angel knew he was right to beleive she'd change.  
"You know Buffy'll probably be pissed if she sees you." Angel reminded her. Faith nodded.  
"I know. But, didn't you think she'd be pissed to see you?" she said. Angel didn't know how to reply. "I might go see if I can find her now, actually. See if I can clear things up with her." Angel nodded. Faith walked away, leaving Angel on his own again. The way he prefered it.  
  
Anya reached to push the key in the lock to her door, but it pushed open. She looked at Xander, who slowly pushed the door away. Inside, a Sinkata demon had trashed the place up good. It noticed them and roared. Anya and Xander screamed in union, then ran down the street. The Sinkata demon gave chase almost imediatly, bursting straight through a wall as if it was made of dried mud. Xander peered over his shoulder to see the demon gaining on them slightly. It wasn't an unfamiliar sight, he remembered the first time him and Anya encountered on. Only they had a car to escape in. This time they didn't.  
The two frightened humans turned the corner and carried on running. Anya could feel herself burning from the inside as she became exhausted and scared. She realized that she not only feared for her life, but for Xander's too. She noticed a car speeding towards them. She could only just make out the driver as Riley. She waved her arms in the air at him. He drove past, and both Anya and Xander turned around to see him drive the car straight into the demon, sending it flying backwards, through a brick wall. They ran over to the car and got in. "Go!" Xander shouted, watching as the demon jumped out of the new hole. Riley slammed his foot on the gas and sped down the road, giving the demon no chance in catching them.  
When they were at a safe distance, Riley turned his head slightly to talk to them. "You two alright?" he asked.  
"Yeah." Anya replied. "Thank you."  
"Don't sweat it." Riley replied. "That was a Sinkata demon, wasn't it?" he asked.  
"Yup." Xander answered.  
"Didn't we kill them?" Anya asked. Xander shrugged.  
"Obviously not." he replied. "And now they're pissed off."  
"Y'think?" Anya said, glancing out the back window. The demon had stopped chasing them. "It's gone." she declared. Riley slowed down slightly, but still drove fast.  
  
Buffy heard a knocking at her door. She sat up from her bed and walked over to the door. She pushed the handle and pulled the door open to see the visitor. She recognized Faith almost instantly. She stared at her. "Hey, Buffy." Faith said, feeling awkward.  
"Faith." Buffy replied, her voice carrying a tone of anger in it. "What are you doing here?"  
"I got a parole, and found out something very bad is going to happen here. Soon." she answered. Buffy looked down at the ground for a moment, then back at Faith.  
"You chosen a side?" Buffy asked. Faith nodded.  
"Your's." she replied. Buffy laughed slightly.  
"That's if I want you on my side." she told her. Faith felt slightly hurt, but not surprised.  
"I know we haven't been the best of friends lately," Faith began.  
"We haven't been friends at all." Buffy butted in.  
"But I want to help. I want to help the world, and I want to help you. I want to be like a slayer should be. Like you. Not worshiping the forces of evil instead of fighting them. If you don't want my help, I'll do it by myself." Faith explained, and started to walk off. Buffy took a step after her.  
"Faith," she said. Faith stopped and turned around. Buffy smiled slightly. "Welcome to the team." Faith smiled excitedly, as she normally smiled.  
"Thanks." she replied, then jogged down the corridor. Buffy watched her until she turned the corner, then re-entered her room. She jumped and landed on her bed, front first. The phone rang suddenly, and Buffy picked it up.  
"Hello?" she asked.  
"Buffy, it's me." Riley told her. Buffy sat up again.  
"Hi, honey." she said. "What's up?"  
"Just saved Xander and Anya from another Sinkata demon." he explained, bluntly. "They think it wants to kill Anya."  
"With all this 'Promised One' crap around, then it's possible." Buffy replied. "Wait, Sinkata demon, did you say?"  
"Yup." Riley answered. "They're not dead, after all."  
"Damn." Buffy said. "Where are Xander and Anya now?" she asked.  
"At Xander's. I dropped them off there." Riley answered. "It's alright. We weren't followed." As soon as he said that, Buffy heard the sound of smashing glass in his room, then a roar. She then heard a fight going on, and instantly hurled herself at the door, leaving the phone off the hook.  
  
Buffy charged straight through the door to Riley's dorm, sending splinters everywhere. She saw Riley on the floor, holding his gut. It was bloodied. The attacker had ran off, so Buffy ran over to Riley and kneeled beside him. "Riley!" she shouted, going hysterical. He coughed, blood seeped from his mouth and sprayed through the air. "Oh, God! Hold on, baby. I'll save you." she told him, reaching for the phone.  
"Buffy..." Riley struggled to say. "The paramedics'll never get here on time. I'm a dead guy." he told her, trying to accept death, whil being in a whole lot of pain at the same time. Buffy pushed her hand against the very deep wound in his gut, trying to stop the bleeding.  
"No!" she insisted. "You're gonna live!" Riley coughed. "You've gotta live!" Riley put his other hand on Buffy's shoulder, then rubbed the back of his finger's along her cheek. She started crying.  
"I love you, Buffy..." he whispered. It was getting harder for him to talk now. Buffy started crying more heavily now.  
"I love you too." she replied. "But you're gonna make it! Please, don't die, Riley!" Riley's hand moved down her cheek slowly, falling to the floor. He sighed heavily, letting out a large breath. He didn't take another one. "Riley..." Buffy whispered to him. Something made her voice higher. Her throat tightened. "Riley, answer me..." She used her free hand to shake him slightly. "Riley!" she said, louder but still quiet. She burst into tears, unable to stop. "Riley!" she screamed, trying to wake him up. She stopped shaking him, and backed away. She couldn't stand up, and tumbled backwards to the floor. She cried heavily, not wanting to stop. She couldn't call for help, and laid on Riley's floor, in a heap. It felt like the end of the world.  
After what seemed an eternity crying every drop of liquid from her body, Buffy slowly pushed herself to her feet. She looked at the smashed window, feeling the rage build up inside her. She bit against her teeth hard, then ran through the gap and onto the grass below. She rolled foward, and ran ahead. She didn't know where she was going, she just needed to find Riley's killer and kill him slowly and painfully.  
Buffy ran non-stop for almost 30 minuites, but hadn't seen anybody. She stopped, and started crying again. She looked around again, then punched a nearby tree. It splintered in the center, falling backwards and creating a loud crashing sound. She ran back to the college, crying along the way.  
  
Riley's body had been taken away. Buffy laid on her bed, staring at the ceiling. She didn't want to talk, or move, or do anything. Willow had arrived back from Spike's to see the paramedics and police. Buffy had managed to tell her, and they'd both started crying. Willow laid on her bed as well. Neither of them had phoned anyone about it. Willow thought she'd better. She looked over to Buffy. "I'll go and tell the others." she said. Buffy nodded. Willow stood up and walked out of the room. She walked along the corridor, dialing Giles' number along the way. His phone started ringing, and he answered it.  
"Hello?" Giles asked.  
"Hey." Willow replied. "It's Willow."  
"What's wrong?" Giles asked, concerned by the obvious upset in her voice. Willow started crying again slightly. "Willow, what's happened?" Giles asked, growing more worried.  
"Riley's dead." Willow managed to announce. Giles went very silent. "A Sinkata demon attacked him. Buffy was too late to save him." she explained.  
"Oh, Jesus..." Giles muttered. "Is Buffy alright?" he asked.  
"She's understandably upset. She doesn't feel like talking at the minuite." Willow told him.  
"I understand that." Giles said. "Do the others know?" he asked.  
"No." Willow replied, still crying.  
"I'll tell them, if you like." Giles offered.  
"Thanks." Willow replied.  
"You make sure Buffy's alright, ok?" Giles told her.  
"Ok." Willow answered. "Bye." She hung up on him, and walked back to her room. She wiped her eyes before she opened the door.  
  
Xander rolled over as Anya was shaking in bed. He decided she was having another incantation dream. He shook her, and she woke up with a scream. She stopped, and looked at Xander. She sighed. "I had another..." she started to explain. Xander nodded.  
"Bad dream." he finished. Anya nodded. Xander held her closer to him and kissed her head. The phone rang, and Xander leaned back to pick it up. "Hello?" he asked.  
"Xander, it's Giles." Giles told him. Xander looked at the digital clock next to the bed.  
"Giles, it's 11 at night." he said. "Why are you..."  
"Riley's dead." Giles explained before Xander could finish. Xander finished halfway through his sentance.  
"What? How?" Xander asked.  
"A Sinkata demon attacked him earlier." Giles answered. Xander remembered their narrow escape earlier.  
"Jesus Christ, we were attacked by one earlier! It must have followed him." Xander told Giles.  
"I don't think they'll attack you tonight." Giles explained. "They'd have gone for you two instead of Riley."  
"That's some good news, at least." Xander said. Giles hung up, then Xander did the same. He rolled back over to Anya.  
"What is it?" Anya asked.  
"Riley's dead." Xander told her. "Sinkata demon."  
"Oh, my God!" Anya said. "I don't wanna think how Buffy's coping." Xander nodded.  
"It's gotta be painful for her." Xander added. Anya hugged and kissed him.  
"Please, promise me you'll never leave me." Anya begged.  
"I promise." Xander answered, kissing her again.  
  
It was now morning, and Willow had left the college early to go tell Spike the bad news. She walked into his crypt, then closed the door. Spike walked over to her. "Morning." he said. Willow nodded.  
"Hi." she said, still sounding down. Spike could sense this.  
"What's wrong?" he asked her.  
"Riley was killed last night." Willow told him, managing not to cry. "A Sinkata demon."  
"Damn." Spike said, not sounding upset about it at all. "That's a pain in the ass. Take it Buffy's kinda unhappy."  
"Yeah." Willow answered. "Look, I know you and Riley pretty much hated each other, but try not to say anything hurtful about him to Buffy, or anyone." she explained.  
"I know. Don't wanna end up on the sharp side of a stake, now, do I?" Spike replied. He walked around his crypt. "Anyway, does this mean we'll all go on a hunt sooner than expected? Because I've been waiting for us to go kick some ass."  
"I don't know, yet." Willow told him. "It's up to Buffy."  
"Ok." Spike said, dissapointed. "Oh, yeah. Bit of an interesting discovery I made last night. I was hanging around that old factory, and heard something like chanting."  
"Did you see who it was?" Willow asked him.  
"No. Got chased away by a..." he slowed his speaking down, obviously realising something. Willow thought she knew the answer.  
"Sinkata demon." She finished his sentance. Spike nodded.  
"I'll take the sewers." Spike told her, grabbing his jacket. "Meet me at Giles'." Willow left the crypt, and Spike did also. He legged it as fast as he could, holding his jacket over him to stop the sun hitting him. He dived into the sewer tunnel, and Willow ran through the graveyard towards Giles' house.  
  
Xander, Anya and Buffy were sitting in Giles' living room. He walked through, offering a drink to Buffy. She shook her head, declining his offer. Anya looked at Buffy, Giles, then the drink. "I'll have it if she doesn't." she said. Giles didn't say anything, so Anya took it. She took a sip of it, when suddenly Willow crashed through the door, blurting "I know where they are!" Everyone looked at her.  
"Where who are?" Xander asked.  
"The Sinkata demons and the Sorcerer of Premaria." Willow answered. Buuffy stood up quickly.  
"Where?" she asked.  
"Old warehouse." Willow told her. "Spike heard chanting, then got chased by a Sinkata demon." Suddenly, Spike barged past her, closing the door to avoid the light. Smoke was coming off his skin slightly, and he was exsausted.  
"She tell you what's going on?" he asked, nodding his head towards Willow.  
"Yes." Giles answered.  
"And we're gonna go stop them. Now." Buffy told them.  
"Oh, bloody hell!" Spike moaned loudly. "I only just avoided turning to a big walking flame."  
"Stop moaning." Buffy ordered. "I'll go find Faith, then we'll go kill them all." Willow started walking back out of the door, then stopped.  
"Faith?" she asked, confused.  
"Long story." Buffy told her, not wanting to waste time. "We need weapons again. This time, it's gonna be tougher. So take the best ones." She started walking out of the house. "Meet me there in an hour." She ran out of the house. Everyone looked at each other, then headed seperate ways to find what they needed. Spike stayed where he was for a while, then shrugged and legged it back to the sewers. 


	5. War

WAR  
  
Xander, Anya and Willow stood outside the disused warehouse, waiting for the others. Willow had gone to see Spike first, and he'd told her that he and Angel would use the sewers underground to find a way in. He'd also given her a crossbow, axe and sword. Anya and Xander had the guns from their first Sinkata demon fight in the museum. Xander looked over at Willow, trying not to let whatever was inside hear him. "It was here, right?" he asked. Willow nodded. "Good." Suddenly, Giles came through the bushes, startling them.  
"Giles!" Willow squeaked.  
"What?" he asked, oblivious to his appearance. He was holding an axe in both hands, some daggers in his belt, and also a bandanna.  
"What's with the funky head-gear?" Xander asked him, trying not to laugh.  
"I want to strike fear into these demons. I thought this made me look a bit more menacing." Giles replied, unhappy at them and their mockery.  
"If your plan is to make them laugh to death, I think you'll succeed." Anya stated. Giles took it off quickly, trying not to feel more of a fool than by keeping it on. Buffy and Faith turned the corner instantly after Giles pocketed the red cloth, and ran over to them with yet more weapons.  
"Ok, we ready?" Buffy asked them all.  
"Ready as we'll ever be." Xander answered, feeling awkward near Faith. She felt the same way, but could hide it easier.  
  
Spike and Angel walked through the Sunnydale Sewage Works, the rats who'd made the dingy tunnels their home quickly scampering away. Angel followed Spike, who knew where he was going. Or so he'd said. "Do you really know where you're going?" Angel asked, wondering why they were taking so long.  
"Of course I am. I bloody live here, remember?" Spike replied, not liking being questioned.  
"We better not get there late, because if we do..." Angel started to threaten Spike.  
"Will you shut the hell up?" Spike asked, getting pissed off with his old ally. "We'll get there on time. See? There."He pointed at a ladder. "There we are. I don't hear death and destruction, do you?"  
"No." Angel replied, not bothering with arguing.  
"Well, we must be on time then. We gotta wait here until we hear the signal, ok?" Spike explained. Angel nodded. "Good. Now shut up. You're getting on my frigging nerves." Spike took out a packet of cigarettes and placed one in his mouth. As he returned the packet to his jacket pocket, he took out his lighter with the other hand and lit it. Angel watched him do this, then remembered something.  
"Willow doesn't like smokers, I seem to remember." he stated, slightly mocking the bleached-blonde vampire. Spike took the cigarette out of his mouth and looked at Angel angrily.  
"Things have changed, moron." Spike told him. "She doesn't give a damn if I smoke, because she loves me for how I love her."  
"How can you? You don't have a soul." Angel reminded him.  
"Are you saying I'm using her?" Spike asked him, even more pissed off. Angel didn't reply. Instead, he smirked slightly at him. "It would be a hell of a shame if when we get the signal, one of us is a heap of dust on the floor, wouldn't it?" Again, Angel didn't answer, loving the way he could annoy what used to be his friend off so easily. "Now will you please just shut up so we don't miss the signal?" Angel nodded, still smirking. Spike took another drag from his cigarette.  
  
The factory was fairly dark as Buffy and the others entered through a small side-door. They could hear something upstairs, and Willow frantically searched for the exit to the sewers. She spotted it, and quickly and quietly ran over to it. She opened it, and signaled to the two vampires below to come up. Without speaking, Spike climbed the ladder, followed by Angel. As he reached the same level, Spike kissed Willow softly, then walked over to the others, Willow and Angel following.  
"We all ready?" Buffy asked, whispering so as not to be discovered. Everyone nodded. "Ok then. This is it." she said, leading them to the stairs. Faith walked beside her, knowing she was the only one there equally as strong as Buffy was.  
Quietly, they started walking up the wooden staircase. It creaked as each foot touched it, and seemed to echo throughout the dark, cold factory. Xander clenched his teeth slightly as the noise wouldn't cease, praying that the creatures upstairs couldn't hear their surprise attack. He gripped his two pistols harder, ready for an attack.  
At the top of the stairs, the two slayers could see a circle of about ten sinkata demons, and a human figure in the center. It was in a robe, chanting, as the demons around it swayed slightly, occasionally chanting along. "What are they doing?" Faith whispered to Buffy, watching the act.  
"I don't know." Buffy replied. "But I don't think it's a sing-song. We'd better finish this now." Faith nodded, and suddenly, they both jumped up the next three steps, charging at the creatures. They turned to face them as Buffy swung her axe through one demon's neck, and Faith stabbed her sword through another's face. The two dead demons fell down as the others moved towards them. The human didn't move, but instead watched. The two slayers started punching and kicking at the demons, and the others reached them quickly.  
Spike and Angel charged at the mass of demons to help the slayers, changing to their vampire visage, swinging their weapons at them as they ran. Some more demons emerged from rooms nearby, and Xander and Anya promptly fired their weapons at them, taking the majority down.  
Willow stayed with Giles as he attacked a nearby demon with his two axes. Willow stabbed it with the sword Spike gave her, and the demon fell to the dusty floor. Another demon suddenly appeared behind them, and knocked both humans into the wall beside them with one punch.  
Spike pulled his axe out of another dead demon, and saw Willow fly through the air from the corner of his eye. He turned and saw Giles as well, and a sinkata demon walking over to the dazed humans. He sprinted towards the demon, and swung his axe at it. The demon noticed, ducked, and pulled the axe from Spike's grip. It swung it at him, and he felt the blade swipe through his chest in a burst of immense pain. He cried out as he fell backwards down the stairs, clutching his chest.  
Willow spotted Spike fall down the stairs as she regained consciousness. "Spike!" she yelled, taking the crossbow from her back and firing the arrow into the demon's head. It dropped to the ground sideways, and Willow ran to the top of the stairs. She looked down to see Spike clambering up towards her, holding his chest which was bleeding. He reached the top and put his arms around her, glad to see she was alright.  
Buffy and Faith both spin-kicked the same demon in the sides of it's head, crushing it's skull inwards. It let out a groan as it collapsed to it's knees, then onto it's face. Angel cut off another demon's head with his sword, the piles off corpses becoming great.   
Xander and Anya ran around the room, avoiding a couple of demons, firing at them and reloading as fast as possible. One demon ran at Anya, and she raised her assault rifle to it's face. She pulled the trigger, but nothing happened. She pulled it again, and realized she was out of ammo. She didn't have time to call to Xander as the demon rammed it's claw into Anya's gut, sticking it's hand straight through her. Xander saw this happen. "No!" he yelled, emptying his almost full clip into the demon's head. It retracted it's claw as it fell backwards, as did Anya. Xander ran over to her as she lay on the ground, blood gushing from the massive wound on her stomach. She coughed up some blood as Xander knelt down beside her. "Anya, honey, can you hear me?" he called to her, talking frantically.  
"Xan..." was all she could announce before sighing slightly, then not moving at all.  
"Anya! Don't do this!" Xander shouted. "You can't die!" Another demon walked over to him, and grabbed his shoulders. It threw him across the room, and he landed hard on his back. The demon started towards him, and as it stood over him, Xander couldn't be bothered to retaliate. The demon reached down for his head, when suddenly it fell beside him. Xander looked at the creature, noticing Giles' dagger sticking out of the back of the creatures skull. Giles ran over to him, and helped him up.  
"Come on!" he shouted, running back to the fight. Xander reloaded his pistols, and ran after Giles, shooting a couple of demons as he went.  
  
The sorcerer of Premaria enjoyed the show of violence and anger portrayed by these three species. He felt unthreatened, as he knew his minions would never allow the enemy to get near him. If they did however, he knew what to do, and could easily stop them. He could kill them all now, but he wanted to witness a battle which was more exciting than any he'd ever watched before.  
  
A sinkata demon swung it's fist into Angel's head, sending him across the room, knocking him out. Buffy quickly cut the demon's head off with an axe, and saw there was only another five demons, and that man who hadn't moved since they arrived. "Faith!" she called. Faith snapped a demon's neck and ran over to her. "Him there! He's the one we've gotta stop!" Faith nodded, and they ran towards him. Another demon charged at them, but Spike jumped out of nowhere, his axe decapitating the demon quickly. The two slayers sprinted at the figure, which slowly raised it's arms. Buffy and Faith suddenly found themselves flying backwards, and hitting the far wall.  
Xander shot another demon dead, and Giles and Willow hacked another up with their weapons. The last demon ran towards them, and sliced it's claw through Willow's side. She screamed as she was forced to the ground, pain flying through her entire body. She felt the blood pour out of her side, it felt warm.  
Xander put eight bullets in the demons head as Giles sliced it clean off the demon's head. They knelt beside Willow, Xander now fearing that not only has he witnessed his girlfriend's death, but also his best friend. They clutched the wound, helping to stop the bleeding. Willow could feel herself blacking out, and tried to hold on as best she could.  
Spike went for the sorcerer, but he forced him backwards into the wall. As he looked up, he saw Willow on the ground, with Xander and Giles beside her. He forgot about the sorcerer completely and ran as fast as he could towards them, sliding on his knees as he reached them.  
The sorcerer walked over to the two slayers, ready to crush them with a simple formation of a fist. He lifted his arms, when suddenly, bullet's tore through his body from behind him. He dropped to the ground, unmoving, as Anya stepped over his body. She unloaded more bullets into his head until the assault rifle gave out a dead click. Xander saw this, and let Spike continue helping Willow as he ran over to Anya, hugging and kissing her. "I thought you were dead!" Xander stated, unable to believe what had happened.  
"Me too. But look..." she said, lifting her bloodied shirt, showing him her stomach. It wasn't even scratched. "Maybe that whole 'Promised One' business was right." Xander smiled, kissing her again and again.  
Buffy ran over to Angel, who was still unconscious. Faith followed her. She looked over the room and saw Willow. She looked up at Faith. "Watch him." she told her. Faith nodded as Buffy ran over to her dying friend. She reached her and saw the deep wound.  
"Is she gonna be alright?" Buffy asked, frantic.  
"She's lost a lot of blood." Giles notified her. He lowered his voice a little, not wanting to say it, but knowing he had to tell her. "I'm not sure we can do anything." Spike looked at the retired librarian, angrily.  
"What? We can! We have to!" he argued. He looked down at Willow. Honey, you're gonna be alright, ok?" She smiled. Xander remembered something.  
"Giles, you can perform that soul giving spell, right? Like how we saved Angel?" he asked.  
"It's an extremely dangerous spell. I'm not sure..." Giles tried to explain.  
"But it can work, right?" Spike asked, wanting to save Willow any way possible. "If Angel turns her, we can give her a soul quickly, and she'll be relatively normal, only a vampire?" Giles nodded.  
"Angel's out cold." Buffy explained. "There's no way he can do it in time." Spike saw Angel and Faith in the far corner, then punched the wall.  
"Shit!" he muttered. He looked at Willow. "Are you ok with being one of us?" he asked her. She nodded slightly.  
"But how...?" she muttered, trying to speak. Spike's face narrowed in the center, his eyes turning yellow, his teeth growing slightly. He looked down to her neck, breathing heavily, knowing this was going to hurt.  
"Spike, are you sure?" Buffy asked, realizing Spike really did love Willow. He nodded, not saying anything, and quickly bit into the dying girl's neck. He felt the electrical impulses in his brain as they became increasingly painful. He continued to drink, despite the intense pain in his skull, knowing this was the only way to save the girl he loved so much.  
Spike pulled away, the great pain still ringing inside his head, and lifted Willow's head to the open wound in his chest. She hesitated, then started drinking from him to complete the turning cycle. He knew he should normally enjoy siring a vampire, but this time he hated every second of it. Not just because of the chip in his head, but the fact that he was killing the girl he'd tried so hard to save.  
Willow had finished drinking, when she finally laid her head back and stopped moving and breathing. Spike collapsed at the same time too, blacking out. The others quickly picked up Willow, Spike and Angel, and took them down the stairs. They carefully took them through the sewers, because it was still daytime outside.   
  
Willow opened her eyes to see the gray concrete roof of Spike's crypt. She looked down her body and saw her wound had healed up. She turned over and saw Spike standing beside her. "How do you feel?" he asked.  
"I'm a vampire?" she wondered aloud, it not quite sinking in yet. Spike nodded.  
"The spell worked. You have a soul." he explained. He handed her a cup. Willow looked in it and saw it was blood. "You need it to become strong." he told her. She reluctantly took a gulp.  
"I'll have to get used to it." she said, putting the cup down. Spike smiled.  
"You'll also have to get used to not being able to go out in the sunlight, touching crosses and stuff like that." Willow smiled.  
"I'm sure I will." She stood up and walked over to him. She kissed him softly. "Thank you." she whispered.  
"It was nothing." Spike replied. Willow kissed him again.  
"Yes it was." she replied. Suddenly, Spike felt a pain in his chest. A stake. "But you're wrong about the spell." Spike's eyes widened as he turned to dust, and fell as a heap on the floor. Willow's face had turned into her vampire one, and she smiled. "It didn't work." she finished, then finished her cup of blood and left via the tunnel in Spike's den.  
  
THE END 


End file.
